C3.3 R1: Document understanding of differences between management and leadership

To document my understanding of leadership and management, I have decided to use the analogy of a GPS.

Leaders assess what point A is, and where point B should be. They then think about how to best get there, which route, turns and roads to take and which to avoid. Leaders can program these routes with understanding of what has worked (and not) in previous routes and where there’s traffic collisions and how to avoid them. Managers on the other hand are the drivers, they take these proposed routes and execute them, they also provide context of “on the ground” experience and adjust the route (and have the leaders re-route) based on what’s actually happening as they execute the route.

It is important for leaders and managers to know what their respective roles and responsibilities are, so that there is no issues in arriving at the desired destination. “Without good management, complex enterprises tend to become chaotic in ways that threaten their very existence.”Managers ensure that the car (or in our case, the health authority, hospital, etc.) that they are responsible for is well equipped to take the journey from A to B. Conversely without good leadership, we are unable to make meaningful strides to positive change, and subsequently stay at our current location indefinitely. This can be harmful to the sustainability of our health authorities, hospitals, etc. if they do not progress and stay ahead of new technology, accreditation requirements, innovations, etc.

Having previously used the words mangers and leaders interchangeably, this has been a useful exercise in denoting the difference and the impact that each one might have in the context of LMPS.